


The Bargained Child

by daoinhe



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 11:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15118658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daoinhe/pseuds/daoinhe
Summary: A character background story for Ajinaxtre of the Wylds





	The Bargained Child

With the illness of his pregnant wife, Merek, in desperation, resorted to the unthinkable. Leaving his small cottage early one morning, he ventured into the ancient forest that bordered his land, in search of the HagWife. A tale used to frighten children of the region for centuries, the HagWife was rumored to be a demoness sent to snare mortal souls, or perhaps one of the Ancient Ones who owned the land before humans were gibbering at each other in caves. Or, according to some legends, the HagWife was the Land itself, personified and with a deep and abiding hatred of those who cut Her, mined Her, plowed her for crops. The only thing that concerned Merek was the legend that the HagWife was capable of curing illnesses of both body and mind. 

After hours of trekking through the enormous trees Merek finally sank down to the ground to rest. Sitting on a soft bed of moss, head leaned back against a tree trunk, he closed his eyes and listened to the soft hypnotic sound of water dripping from leaves. The whisper of footsteps woke him as the sun was sinking below the horizon. The forest was cast in darkness except for small breaks in the canopy of trees which allowed streaks of red to shine through. Instead of lighting the forest floor, they simply served to make the darkness darker. Merek turned his head toward the footsteps and gasped aloud. Gliding toward him was an angel. Diaphanous wisps of pale mint silk floated around her body, long hair so blonde as to be white drifted behind her, brushing her knees when she paused to watch him. Head tilted to the side like a curious bird, she smiled. “Do you plan to use your sword on me, mortal?” Her voice contained the sound of water whispering over rocks, clouds drifting across the sky. 

Merek simply stared, entranced. 

“Well, mortal?” She stepped closer, feet barely imprinting in the thick moss. She smiled wider. “I’m guessing that you’ve come to beg a favor from the HagWife, as your kind so impertinently calls me.”

Merek nodded mutely. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, he cleared his throat and tried to speak. “I… Ummm…. Please…” His voice resembled the croaking of a frog beside the clear peals of her dulcet tones. 

She smiled and reached down to caress the side of his face with one long fingered hand. With a slight shudder, Merek noted the extra joints on her fingers, the long nails that resembled nothing so much as talons.

“Let me guess.” Her lips curved up again. “Your wife lies ill, her life will be forfeit without help. With the passing of her life, so too shall your first child be lost. You beg of me a boon, a potion to heal her, allow her the strength to carry the child to term, and to bear you many more.” 

Merek nodded mutely. 

The HagWife smiled at him again. “I shall make a deal with you, mortal. You may save one of them. Wife or child, you choose, but know this, one shall be yours, one shall be mine or you shall lose them both.” 

Merek’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Who to choose? He stammered briefly, and suddenly, the thought came to him. Without the wife, there would be no more children… Without the woman he loved, who would help him with his farm, who would cook for him in the evenings, or clean and mend his clothes, whose loving hands would he feel on his body at night? 

“Say it.” Hissed the HagWife. “Say it aloud, or it matters not.” 

“My… my wife…” Merek’s voice grew louder with each syllable. “Save my Jen.”

The HagWife smiled wider, revealing rows of pointed teeth, layered like a shark’s. “Yes.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “Go home, little mortal. Go back to your wife, and lay your lips on hers. When the child is born, her name shall be Ajinaxtre. I shall claim her when I so desire.” Thunder rumbled in the distance. A flash of lightning lit the now dark forest. A tree nearby burst into flames and fell toward them. Merek closed his eyes, waiting to be crushed. 

Silence engulfed him. Opening his eyes, Merek looked around himself, stunned. He stood in the small yard of his farm. His cow lowed in the barn, the sound soft in the gloom. Windows shone with pale golden light, and the smells of stew mixed with the odor of growing things. Walking up path paved with river stones, Merek leaned his head against the door for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Were the past hours real, or a dream brought on by desperation? Sighing, he opened the door and went in. 

Jen stood by the hearth, stirring a large iron cook pot with a wooden spoon. When he entered, she turned and smiled at him. Her lank brown hair hung in strands around her face, her eyes were large and hollow. Dark circles smudged the skin beneath them. The corners of her lips turned up slightly, then she grimaced in pain. Her hand, thin as a skeleton’s, rested on her rounded belly. She swayed slightly, weakness causing her limbs to quiver.

Merek rushed to her and leaned close enough to smell the sickness on her breath. “You should not be doing this, dearest.” He breathed into her ear. Leaning closer, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. 

Jen’s eyes rolled back in her head, she slumped down in a faint. Merek caught her, lifting her easily. He carried her to the straw pallet in the corner and lay her on in, snuggling the hand sewn quilt close to her. Cursing himself and the tricks of the HagWife, he sat on the floor beside his wife, gently chafing her cold hand between his own. 

In the darkest part of the night, Merek was awakened by thunder crashing so loud it seemed to be directly atop the small cottage. He startled upright, then groaned, stiff from falling asleep on the floor. Jen stifled a grunt of pain beside him. As a log shifted in the fireplace, he gazed at her, amazed. The added light revealed a bloom of health in her cheeks that hadn’t been there for months. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light, and her hair shone with vitality. She was the beauty he’d wed the previous summer once again. She smiled widely, then gasped again, both hands flying to her belly. 

“It’s time!” She moaned faintly, her stomach rippling as another contraction tore through her. 

Merek panicked. “I don’t have time to get the midwife!” He shouted as Jen’s birthing fluids covered their bed. 

“Don’t worry, “ Jen gripped his hand so tightly the bones ground together. “It’s like calving.” She managed through gritted teeth.

Merek shook his head, smiling inwardly at Jen’s attempt at humor, no matter how dire the situation. He’d missed that during her illness. 

As he stood to get clean soft clothes from the chest at the foot of the bed, the door suddenly came unlatched allowing wind and rain to blow in from the tempest outside. Merek sprang toward the door, ready to slam it shut. As his hand grasped the frame, a voice from the storm reached his ears. “Well, Merek, aren’t you going to invite me in?” He drew back in surprise and fear as Jen cried out from within, deep in the throes of her labor. 

“Come in.” Merek finally found his voice, standing to the side as the HagWife swept past him, hair wild from the wind, eyes burning with an inner fire. 

Kneeling between Jen’s parted legs, the HagWife helped the new child into the world. Jen gasped in confusion as the babe was carried out into the rain and wind, still bloody from the birth. Merek shushed her as best he could while watching the HagWife warily.

Standing in the small yard, she lifted the crying baby into the air, offering it to the night. Lightning lit the sky, thunder crashed around them both and the HagWife screamed out an incantation. “Welcome to the night, Ajinaxtre! Recognize her, all who dwell within the darkness, my gift, my offering for my magic!” 

Outside, the child suddenly ceased to cry. Merek closed his eyes, wondering what he had done, wondering if Jen would ever be able to forgive him. Jen’s eyes narrowed, she regarded him closely but stayed quiet as bidden. From the small yard, the silence that had descended was broken by the clear sound of an infant’s soft cooing in contentment. Merek’s eyes widened even more as he watched door, listened to the too still night. 

At last curiosity overcame his fear. Walking to the door, he peered outside cautiously. His infant daughter lay in the mud, a pale white spot on the cold dark ground. Stars shone overhead and frogs croaked in the pond nearby. The chirping of insects was met by the calls of night birds and in the meadow an owl hooted softly as it flew on silent wings in search of mice. 

Merek nearly ran to his child, snatching her out of the mud and holding her close. Retreating back into the house, he wiped the filth from her and wrapped her in soft clothes, then handed her to her mother. As Jen put the babe to breast, Merek told her the story of his search for a cure, and his deal with the HagWife. 

Jen sighed, holding her child closer. “What’s done is done,” she whispered at last, “But know this, Merek, somewhere, someone must know how to break this bond. And you will find them.”

Five years later…

 

Ajinaxtre ran through the small yard shrieking, red hair streaming behind her like a comet’s tail. Her brother Malin raced behind her, trying to keep up. The children were chasing a large wooden hoop, sticks in hand, trying to keep it from falling over. The hoop wobbled precariously and Malin swung at it, his stick thumping into Ajinaxtre’s side. 

“Ow!” she yelped, then righted the hoop, sending it spinning across the flat packed earth again.

“Jinxie, wait!” Malin tried to keep up with her and the hoop, his shorter legs pumping hard. As Ajinaxtre reached the stone fence at the bottom of the yard she slowed, then came to a stop suddenly, pinwheeling her arms to retain her balance. “Malin, get Momma! “ she cried out as a figure swathed in a dark cloak stepped out from behind the fence. 

Malin ran for the house, yelling for his mother as Ajinaxtre raised her stick defensively. 

A bubbling chortle from under the hood seemed to brighten the very air as a slender white hand pushed the cloth away from a beautiful face with eyes green as leaves in summer. “Hold, My Lady, lower your weapon. I beg permission to pass into your yard.” The woman smiled broadly. “I would speak with your mother, little warrior. Jinx, I believe I heard your brother call you. A mighty foe and one before whom I could not stand.” The woman bowed her head in a courtly fashion. “Accept my yield.”

Ajinaxtre’s mouth dropped open. Never before had anyone, much less an adult, spoken to her in such a playful tone. Grinning suddenly, she stepped back and bowed. “Please, Lady, a safe passage I offer you to the fair lands within.” As soon as the words were spoken, she clasped a hand over her mouth. Children were to be seen, not heard, as her father often told her. 

Smiling at the child’s audacity, the HagWife reached down and grasped her hand. “Escort me, if you please, Jinx.” 

Ajinaxtre gripped the lady’s hand and led her through the yard to where her mother was standing, eyes wide in shock.

“What are you doing here?” Jen’s voice was barely a croak.

“You know what I’ve come for, Jen.” The HagWife squeezed Ajinaxtre’s hand tighter, ensuring that the child could not run. “I’m here to claim my just reward for the aid I gave your husband and you five years ago, to the day.” She looked down on Jen, eyes narrowing. “You do remember me, don’t you?” 

Jen nodded mutely. “I do. But why now? After all this time, why come back?”

“Because, it is not in my nature to leave a debt unpaid. You have had the child for long enough. She is fully able to survive without your assistance now.” The HagWife smiled wider, a hint of fang glittering in her mouth. “Unless of course, you wish to go back on our bargain, and forfeit everything you’ve gained over the years.” Her lips curved up in a sneer. “Your son’s life and your life, to start with. Either way, I will have what was promised me.” 

Ajinaxtre looked at the two women, sensing the tension between them. Suddenly, she began to pull on her hand. Looking down at her, the HagWife shook her head. “No child. You will come with me now.” 

Ajinaxtre bared her teeth and growled low, a sound she’d spent countless hours imitating after hearing the dogs fight over bones. She kicked the beautiful lady in the shin, hard as she could. 

Startled, the HagWife slapped the child, sending her sprawling in the dirt. With a loud growl, she picked Ajinaxtre up by the back of her dress and held her at eye level. “Bad pet.” Glaring at Jen she snarled. “I see that I’ll waste time teaching her manners. That is what I get for leaving her with mortals.” Dark mist began to swirl around her legs and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Ajinaxtre looked around the opulent room she’d suddenly found herself in. The farm, the small yard, the smells of hay and dung were gone. Replacing them were smells she could not place, sights she’d never seen before. She grunted with pain as she was dropped to the hard marble floor. 

Ajinaxtre lay still, shocked into stunned silence as the woman who’d brought her to this place walked away. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to look at the silent child. “Well?” She shook her head, “Are you coming, or do I have to drag you?” 

Ajinaxtre struggled to her feet and began to follow, head down, eyes on the floor. AS she walked, she sniffled quietly, trying to stifle the sobs that threatened to come at any moment. Tears blurred her vision, she could barely see the floor in front of her feet. Ajinaxtre wiped her runny nose on the tail of her shirt, then rubbed a hand over her eyes, tears leaving streaks in the dirt on her cheeks. 

Booted feet stopped in front of her, a hand reached down and tilted her chin up. Ebony eyes with flecks of maroon studied her face closely. She stared straight back at the man holding her face. 

“She’s not much to look at, Lynesse.” HE frowned slightly. “This is the mortal you waited five years for? Isn’t she rather small?” 

The HagWife came back and stooped down to stare into Ajinaxtre’s face as well. “She’ll grow, Belasaru. She’s a child. “

He snorted in disbelief. “I’ll believe it when I see it. I still think you would do better to feed her to the Diakk and look for something a bit more suitable.” HE smiled winningly at Lynesse, lips drawing back over sharp fangs that caused Ajinaxtre to wince away from him. “Let me get you a nice wolf, or an adder, Lynesse. Anything except this evolved monkey. Look at her.” He snarled at Ajinaxtre, she started back so violently that she tangled her feet together and fell, yet again. “She is cowardly, and sniveling, and she will never serve you well, Lynesse.” He stood and turned his back on the child. “That thing will cause nothing but discord in this house.”

Lynesse stepped between him and Ajinaxtre. “She is mine, My Husband. And if she meets with an accident, or disappears, or takes ill with poison I will seek you out and there will be a reckoning between us. And one of us will not walk away from that reckoning.” 

Belasaru sighed and ran a finger down Lynesse’s cheek in a caress. “Fine, My Wife. Keep your mortal pet.” He grinned. “But for my sake, give it a bath. It smells like dung.” He turned and walked down the hall, then stopped and looked back over his shoulder curiously. “Have you named it?” 

Lynesse nodded. “Her name is Jinx.”

Fifteen years later

Jinx woke to the sound of gongs. Startled by the loud noises she jumped from her straw pallet and ran into her mistress’s room. “Mistress Lynesse, what is happening?” 

Lynesse turned over in bed and shook her head sadly. “The palace has been invaded. The walls are breached and the armies are fighting in the hallways. That is the only reason for the gongs to sound.” She sighed and stood, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Damn the rebels. I told Belasaru to kill them in the beginning, but no, he wanted to hear their demands. Now all of Marakeld is in danger.” She sighed loudly. “Get our bags, Jinx. And for pity’s sake, put some warm clothes on.” She turned away and headed for her wardrobe to dress herself.

Jinx ran back into her small chamber and scrambled into the loose flowing robes of a servant of Marakeld. She strapped her swords to her side, grabbed her pack and started throwing things into it. Running into her mistress’s chambers, she began to do the same as Lynesse dressed herself. When the bags were full, she went to Lynesse’s side. “I have food, water, and spare clothes. Is there anything else we need?” 

Lynesse shook her head. “The fighting sounds nearer.” She frowned, listening closely to the sounds of steel on steel. “Definitely closer.” She frowned as there was a heavy pounding on her door. “I think it may be time for us to leave, child.” Taking Jinx’s hand in her own, she summoned a portal and they stepped through it.

Jinx stared around the dark forest, eyes adjusting slowly to the dim light of a full moon. “Mistress, where are we?” 

Lynesse smiled and touched her servant’s hair. “This is the world you were born in. Don’t you recognize it?” 

Jinx shook her head, frowning. “Not a thing. It smells weird.” She tentatively touched a leaf and then rubbed her fingers together. “That’s the smell. The leaves. And the dirt.” 

Lynesse nodded. “I know. Enough about leaves and dirt though. We need to find shelter, and wait for word of what is happening at home. Belasaru will contact me when it’s safe to return.” 

She began to thread her way through the forest, trailed by Jinx. They had gone barely two miles when Lynesse paused. “Something is coming. Hide.” 

Jinx nodded and crouched down in the trees beside Lynesse. Both were silent, watching the trail with wide eyes, listening to the sounds of stomping feet. Huge hairy figures passed in front of them, close enough to touch. Neither moved as the figures passed them by. They were nearly out of sight in the dense forest when the figure in the back paused and sniffed the air. He grunted something unintelligible, and the other four stopped and turned back, grunting and snorting a reply. The figure who had smelled them began to walk toward the copse of trees they were hiding in. 

Lynesse stood suddenly, fire ripping from her fingertips in a large ball. “Run, Jinx!” she shouted as she darted through the bushes. Blinded by the light, the trolls milled about uncertainly for a moment, then gave chase. 

The two women ran, darting through brush, jumping over fallen logs and small streams. The trolls came crashing behind them, gaining as they plunged through obstacles the two had to dart around. Jinx could barely keep up with Lynesse, starting to pant as the humid air seemed to close in on her. Suddenly, Lynesse stopped running. She turned and looked at Jinx with sad eyes. Jinx ran to her side, confused, then appalled as she looked over the edge of the cliff they were cornered on. There was no way down the sheer rock walls, and the crashing sounds of their pursuers stopped as well. Jinx turned as the five huge trolls walked out of the forest surrounding them. 

One of the trolls stepped forward, club in hand and opened his mouth, half snarling the common tongue. “Nowhere to run, birdies.”

Jinx unsheathed her sword as Lynesse readied the last of her magics. The portal had drained her. She muttered a brief incantation, then cast, the curse flying straight at the lead troll and striking him hard. He fell backwards, eyes crossing briefly. Jinx stepped in front of Lynesse, ready to defend. Behind her, Lynesse, used up, slumped to the ground in a faint. The fight that followed was brief and ended when a huge club glanced off Jinx’s head, darkening the world around her. 

Jinx woke to the sounds of a fire crackling. Moaning in pain, she tried to bring her hand up to her aching head, only to realize they were bound behind her. Prying her eyes open, she groaned and looked around. There was a spit over the fire, and something large skewered on the spit. Jinx squinted and looked closer, then gasped in horror. Lynesse’s gutted corpse crackled and hissed over the fire as a large troll turned the spit. Jinx managed to stagger to her feet. One of the trolls glanced at her, then chuckled evilly. It pointed to the spit, then to her. “You next.”

Jinx ran at the troll, howling with fury and pain. She only got a few yards before the rope around her neck brought her crashing to the ground. Groaning, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the stars. After a deep breath, she sat up and began cursing the trolls, using every word she’s ever heard, and making a few up. The leader of the group stood suddenly and walked over to her, frowning. 

“Shut mouth, or I gut you now.” It growled in a voice like an avalanche. 

Jinx worked her tongue around her mouth for a moment, then spit at the troll. It drew its huge paw back, curled its fingers into a fist and swung at her. Jinx dropped below the swing, kicking out at the creature’s legs as she did so. Her foot connected, sending shooting pains up her leg. The troll did not seem to notice. He swung at her again, and just before his fist connected, Jinx rolled to the side. His huge fist plowed into the ground beside her, and this time he roared in pain. Straightening, he grabbed the rope tied from a tree nearby to Jinx’s neck and pulled. She gasped and kicked as her legs left the ground. Dangling in midair, she could only choke as the troll held her. Large black spots began blooming in her vision. Jinx tried to focus on the troll, but was unable to. Suddenly, she was dropped to the ground where she sucked in huge gulping breaths of air. She looked up at the troll, it was standing still, an arrow piercing its eye. As it began to sway back and forth, she rolled, narrowly avoiding being crushed under the behemoth when it toppled. 

The night exploded. Arrows whistled through the air, the remaining four trolls scrambled for their weapons and for cover. Steel rang against steel as dirty humans with gleaming teeth attacked. Jinx drew herself into a ball, hands frantically twisting behind her back as she struggled to free herself. Pushing backward with her feet, she managed to get to the dubious shelter of the tree she was tethered to. The ropes were not loosening, even as she frantically worked at them, leaving her wrists raw and bleeding. Around the fire, trolls died. As the sounds of steel quieted, Jinx pressed herself further back into the shadows. 

She watched from there as the filthy humans gathered closer to the fire, inspecting the remains of her Mistress. One of them leaned over and cut off a piece of meat, blowing on it a bit to cool it, then popping it into his mouth and chewing. He nodded in satisfaction, and the others gathered closer, all taking bits of meat. The sounds of chewing and swallowing reached Jinx’s ears, making her slightly nauseous as she thought of Lynesse. A shadowy figure stood from the fire and walked over to where she hid. Grabbing the rope around her neck, he held it tightly, pointed teeth gleaming as he bent closer to peer at her. He reached to his belt and pulled out a long sharp blade. Jinx closed her eyes, too tired to fight. The knife sliced through the air and the pressure on her neck was suddenly gone. Opening her eyes, Jinx stared up at him, wondering.

Walking behind her, he cut the ropes binding her hands and then walked back in front of her. He held out his hand. Eyes narrowed, Jinx placed her hand in his. With a smooth pull, he helped her to her feet. 

“Hello there. I’m Beyor. Welcome to the Wilds.” 

Jinx pulled her hand from his. “I’m Jinx. You’re eating my Mistress.”


End file.
